| Logs |
2000-12-27
| Starfall |
| Realms |
Retired
| Reality Fault |
General Info
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Learning Freedom in the Heart
The prisoners are a bit of a problem at times, and eventually
the decision is made to rope them together and march them behind the
wagons. The freed serfs are quite happy to stand guard duty, although
it is also quickly apparent that they cannot be trusted alone with
the bandits -- too many have old grudges to settle. Still, the routine
settles down in a few days and the trip merely becomes tedious.
It becomes evident that the ex-serfs are uncomfortable around the St. Genevieve siblings; even Horatio makes them nervous. The children get very uncommunicative when they are nearby, almost as if worried about saying something wrong.
Alex finds the trip very much like being first mate on the Mare... keep an eye on folks, and keep things moving smoothly forward so the captain's not bothered unnecessarily. She wonders idly if most of being a responsible noble can be summed up so. The one thing she finds odd is the behavior of the serfs... although she mentally blames it on what their former nobility must have been like. She wishes she could figure out how to ask them about it -- and get a truthful answer -- but decides best to just let them decide when they're ready to try talking to her. In the meantime she does her best, as usual, to keep everything working well.
Carroll notes the discomfort of the serfs, and also decides not to push it. He'll save any demands for information for when he needs it, rather than for when he's merely curious, and concentrate on getting everyone where the group is headed.
There is a pattern to the serfs' behavior, but it takes a while to notice. They are wary and deferential around the St. Genevieves, but also around two of the miners -- a fennec fox and a wolf. The common thread seems, oddly enough, to be species. Alex leans over while riding to murmur curiously to Carroll, "Hey, Cara... d'you think the nobility of Costa Yermo is maybe all canid?"
Carroll replies cautiously to Alex, "As far as I know, yes. The way these poor folks are being so skittish seems to confirm it."
Alex grins at Carroll, then murmurs just as softly, "Thank goodness Dimitri's not here... he'd have a cow at being treated like 'bad' nobility!" She covers a giggle, then just rides quietly next to her brother, still grinning to herself for a while. A moment later she tilts a curious ear and adds quietly to Carroll, "So... I wonder what they're like? They must be really awful from the way folks are acting. Have you noticed how the kits all just fall silent when we're around?"
Carroll nods and says, "Yes. I wonder if they don't fear we'll return them, or enslave them ourselves."
Alex blinks in faint startlement... then smiles, "Well, I'd guess the former serfs that now work for Senyor Vincenza, and our 'dillo quad, would put them straight on that, yes?"
Carroll replies with, "I hope so." Alex is a tad more careful after that... she doesn't move rapidly around the newly freed serfs nor raise her voice, and she takes care to be always polite and friendly. Maybe that will help some.
Alex is relaxing after dinner one night by the fire, cleaning and saddle-soaping her boots. She's settled comfortably cross-legged with her small bowls of cleaning and soaking water, her sponges, a wiping cloth, and her saddle soap. It's a small job that gives a quietly relaxing pleasure when well done, and with a canopy of stars overhead and a crackling fire leaping nearby she doesn't lack for either beauty or warmth.
The youngsters are racing around the camp that same evening, playing some loud and noisy game and not watching where they are going. The young rabbit buck manages to charge full tilt into Alex's work area, knocking things over and dumping one of the water bowls right into her lap. The kits freeze immediately, the rabbit looking terrified.
Alex acks, trying to catch things as they go flying. When the tumbling around is finished, she blinks, realizing that although her boots aren't sopping... her lap now is. "Oh, yuck. Here..." she hands the small bowl to the young rabbit, "-can you go get some clean water for me? I'm going to have to go change before I can finish, I'm afraid." She rises, wiping off most of the water as she heads for her pack... although she can't resist a small, impish grin just to herself, imagining the utterly confused looks the kits are likely to have right now at her (un)reaction! Idly she wonders what the adults were thinking too... of a noblewoman cleaning her own boots. She remembers, with a smile, the astonished looks she'd originally gotten from the teamsters -- that she picked out her own horse's hooves. Well, they'd been bemused but friendly... hopefully these folks will be friendly also.
By the time Alex returns with dry clothing, the rabbit is working carefully on her boots. He looks worried as she approaches, and tries to speed up what he's doing. Alex smiles, sitting down next to the rabbit. She gently takes the sponge from his small paws, "Here now... slow down. See, you've got too much foam on the sponge... you need to wipe that off and use long, slow strokes to work in the saddle soap. See?" She suits her actions to her words. While she's not doing it consciously, she's keeping her tone low and calm, like she would with a skittish horse. The youngster nods vigorously, apparently reassured that he's not in as much trouble as he thought, and tries to take the sponge back to continue the job. He's puzzled that Alex is doing this herself.
Alex will let him if that seems to make him more comfortable, although she'll quietly show him how to do things right if he seems to be making any mistakes. She picks up the other boot and starts on it. Maybe this will seem companionable to him? Wryly she notes to herself that if it weren't equipment she needed she'd let him do it as enthusiastically as he wanted and thank him nicely afterwards regardless... but not her riding boots. Those have to be right. She glances around, hoping Rosita will turn up at some point. She can tell the kit's puzzled about something... but what, she has no clue.
The kit seems to be doing a reasonably good job on his own, but he watches carefully to make sure he's not doing anything Alex will object to. He seems to be almost comfortable with the situation when Rosita walks over with his parents. Alex looks up and smiles, "Heya, Rosita! How do I ask what this young kit's name is, so I can tell him thank you for helping me, please?"
Rosita grins and asks. The youngster's eyes get big, a cross between nervous and pleased, and Rosita has to reassure him for a moment. "He is Pablo, senyorita." The parents look anxious as well.
Alex nods, then smiles at the young rabbit. Very carefully she enunciates, "Gracias, Pablo." She grins up at Rosita from her comfortably seated position, "There... did I say it right? I didn't just tell him I have horns or something, did I?"
Rosita smiles. "You say her right, senyorita." The rabbits are now definitely puzzled, but encouraged that nothing bad is about to happen. "They want to know what else they should do to make up for thees?"
Alex looks a little puzzled herself, "Um... make up for what, please?"
Rosita adds, "For the accident, senyorita. They worry that you will punish them for not raising their boy properly. I try to tell them you would not do such a thing, but they insist."
Alex looks surprised now, but gamely tries to handle this. "Uhh... well, okay, let me think." She pauses a moment... what would Carroll say... then nods, "Okay. Can you tell them this, please, Rosita? Tell them that their boy seems a very nice young man, and that I very much appreciated his helping me with my boots... but that I certainly don't see a moment of exuberance as a reason to punish someone?" She grins, adding wryly, "If that were the case, I would have been in constant trouble myself as a kit!"
Rosita nods and passes this on to the rabbits, who look quite surprised. They bow low to Alex then. "Gracias, gracias, senyorita. Gracias!" Alex smiles and nods very politely to them as well, although she's faintly surprised again at the number of thank-yous she seems to be getting. She really must ask Rosita what she knows of the Costa Yermo nobility... were this behavior not consistent across all the freed serfs, she'd almost think they were pulling her leg!
The rabbits ask Rosita something else, and she replies in a voice which sounds a touch exasperated. One of Alex's ears tilts in faint amusement at the touch of exasperation... but she keeps the polite smile on her face as she watches and listens. Rosita sighs finally, and nods as if agreeing to something. "They eenseest, senyorita, that I ask eef you are going to tell the Capitan."
Alex nods, looking utterly puzzled, "Um... well, okay, if they insist I will? Er... but if one of them wants a job, wouldn't it be easier to just ask for one?"
Rosita chuckles, unable to help herself. "No, I theenk they are hoping you are not going to tell heem about thees. They are not believing they will get away so easily."
Alex says, "Oh!" She looks startled again... then laughs -- this is just so strange to her! "Wow..." she shakes her head once, still smiling, "-talk about a completely different view on life! Okay, Rosita, let's try telling them this instead... tell them that I am not unhappy about what happened. It was a simple accident, and I don't care -- no one and nothing was hurt. Furthermore, even were I to tell the captain, which I see no need to, he wouldn't care either!" She pauses, waiting for Rosita to say that to them, then adds with a smile, "Tell them that as far as I'm concerned, it's a nonincident, and they should quit worrying!"
Rosita grins. "I tell them thees, but they need to hear you say it, senyorita. Thank you." She turns back to the rabbits and passes on the conversation, eventually shooing them off. They spend the rest of the evening trying to surreptitiously watch Alex, apparently not quite willing to believe that nothing bad will happen. Alex grins, shaking her head in quiet amusement after they leave. With curious amusement she murmurs to the young armadillo, "So... what did they expect, Rosita? That I'd eat him for lunch or something?"
The armadillo looks more serious. "They theenk you might have heem flogged, senyorita. Thees ees what would happen in Costa Yermo."
Alex looks a little shocked, but just nods quietly, "I... see. All right, I think I understand a bit better why they were so worried." She's silent for a moment, then says quietly, mostly to herself, "What... horrible people their nobility must be... how could they be that way, in good conscience? Why don't they take care of their people?" She doesn't really expect an answer.
The refugees seem to be a bit more comfortable with the foxes the next day, and young Pablo seems to be in shock that nothing bad has happened to him, but with the resilience of the young he soon is running around with the other children again. His parents are slower to really believe it, but they get progressively less nervous as the day progresses. Alex tends to smile a bit when she sees Pablo running around again, but that's about all the reaction the parents are likely to note in her. She's her usual calm, politely friendly self... deliberately so. Carroll continues to do his best to make sure progress is being made quickly, mostly dealing with his own staff so as not to disturb the refugees any more. He's unsure as to what else he can do about their fears.
Eventually the refugees accept that these canids are not the same as the ones they have fled from, and start to relax -- although they still unconsciously flinch when they hear a Killimaran voice raised in anger. Things are going well enough as the caravan wends its way down from the high mountains toward the border outpost of Alto Nevada. Alex is relieved things are going as well as they are so far... it gives her an odd, crawling feeling down her spine to be regarded with fear by harmless people. She doesn't think she likes it, and she's glad the freed serfs are finally starting to relax.
On one of the days while Alex is riding next to the wagons (instead of as scout), she spends some time thinking quietly. Her horse's mildly swaying gait is easy to sit, and the beautiful scenery encourages the mind's eye to wander... she wonders about the freed serfs, and the worry of the rabbit family. Could that be how Bryn had come to be so close to her father -- a 'deserved' punishment that wasn't delivered as expected? She smiles... knowing Bryn, it could just as easily be that she likes the confident way Daddy carries himself. She wonders if she'll ever have a Bryn-equivalent, like her father, to go adventuring with... she grins at that thought, imagining some of the scrapes Daddy must've gotten that rapscallion out of!
A slow, careful sweep of the terrain, the traveling party, and the prisoners... all's well. She lets her mind wander again. Bryn. The mink has certainly been good for all the siblings. She'd taught Alex some extremely useful tricks -- things Alex is pretty sure she would never have gotten from anyone in the family -- especially Father! Alex tsks softly under her breath... silly Daddy, trying to 'protect' her from... from life itself, practically! Fortunately Bryn was there for her and her brothers... and for Daddy too, from the sound of it -- how many times had they saved each others' lives, according to Bryn? Alex grins quietly, and guesses past some point the actual numbers just don't matter any more. Still, it was nice that Bryn would go along with Father on his journeys frequently. Bet it was a bit of a comfort to Mother, knowing someone as loyal (if disreputable) as Bryn was there to be sure her husband made it safely home. Mother... Daddy... Bryn...
Alex straightens suddenly in the saddle at a startling thought, causing her horse's ears to flick back towards her in mild curiosity. She absently and automatically pats the rangy gelding's shoulder in reassurance, even as her thoughts race fascinatedly forwards. Bryn and... Daddy, together?! Would Mother have minded? Alex is momentarily indignant -- how could he?! -and then common sense reasserts itself -- well, she doesn't know for sure... she ponders the strange idea, turning it over in her head thoughtfully. Finally she concludes that, were she her mother, she probably wouldn't want that occurring while she was there with her husband, or when they were in Starfall... but for long voyages away from home... well... tentatively Alex concludes that having someone known to be loyal to the family as a consenting snuggle partner for long journeys would... probably be okay? -almost... kinda sweet, in a way...
Alex grins ruefully, shaking her head slightly... she's been seeing things in a whole new light recently! She wonders if that's part of growing up... if so, Bryn certainly helped her on that path. She smiles quietly, wondering what 'naughty' things Bryn taught her brothers as well -- and then her ears suddenly go straight up at a particular thought! Could Bryn have also um... have been her brothers' first tumble?! She has to cover a small giggle at the thought -- how very like Bryn that would be! -and then, once again, common sense reasserts itself and she shakes her head. No... couldn't be. Not Horatio. She giggles softly again, taking that moment of amusement to do her obligatory visual sweep again, then goes back to thinking.
Okay, so not Horatio... that leaves Carroll and Dimitri. She grins wickedly, wondering if this is teaseable information! -then regretfully concludes Carroll wouldn't tease worth a darn about it -- he'd just nod and calmly 'fess up! Maybe Dimitri, then? She thinks about that for a while, swaying easily in the saddle... and then slowly shakes her head again. No. Not Dimitri... somehow she doubts Bryn tumbled her dark brother. Dimitri's just a little too possessive, a little too demanding... Bryn would never put up with that. So... just Carroll then. Interesting.
Alex blinks slowly as a new variant of her thoughts hits her -- maybe Dimitri saw Carroll and Bryn together at one point?! -and after that Bryn wouldn't do the same for him -- how he'd have hated that! That would certainly account for a wide variety of peculiar behaviors on Dimitri's part -- if he erroneously believed Carroll was to blame for why Bryn was never a snuggle bunny (snuggle mink? Alex has to stifle another giggle!) with the darkling fox. She nods in silent fascination to herself. That'd potentially explain the beginnings of Dimitri's strange ideas about how all furrs were equal -- he certainly didn't learn that in Blackpool's Marines! she thinks with a wry smile... and would also explain why he equated Daddy and Carroll so much, even though in some ways the two of them were so different. Like... like why Dimitri blamed Carroll for Miriam, and why he'd had the temper tantrum at wearing clothing like Carroll and the rest of the family at the court knighting in Maidstone -- Alex's eyes widen slightly in wonder. Could this -- this situation with Carroll and Bryn, when the boys were both not much more than cubs -- be the seminal occurrence in Dimitri's life... for most of his more inexplicable beliefs and behaviors?!
Alex tilts her head back to watch a hawk watching them as it spirals lazily up into the sky, and smiles. Perhaps it was, perhaps it wasn't... but in the end, it just doesn't matter, and it's all worked out for the best. Dimitri's being well-taken care of by the family, with a nice, face-saving job, and Natasha and Daddy can keep him in line, so he doesn't do anything too utterly foolish. That leaves her and her other two brothers free to wander and adventure, for family and glory. Her eyes sweep across the small caravan, to check both her other brothers. Wonderful how much closer she's been able to get to them -- now that she's taken off the rose-colored glasses of hero-worship. Carroll and Horatio both are amazing people, whom she's both lucky and proud to be family with. She grins, pushing her hair back with one small paw, and looks around happily. Life is good!
It is a while later that Alex finds herself riding next to her eldest brother, but not immediately near anyone else, even though they're still easily within shouting distance or sight. Carroll can tell by the set of her ears and her expression that Alex is thinking hard. Slowly she says, "Cara... d'you have a moment for a question?"
Carroll looks over to his sister, sees the look of concentration, and thinks, uh-ohh, but says, "Of course, Alex."
It takes Alex a while to frame the question, "Um, well, I was wondering... ahh... see, Bryn taught me -- taught all of us, I think? -- some really useful things, y'know? So I was wondering if she uh... hm." She frowns in concentration for a moment, then finally sighs and shrugs. No delicate way to put this, she thinks amusedly, "So, Cara... was Bryn your first tumble?"
Carroll looks at his sister for a long time, and tries to figure out what she's asking -- it simply hasn't occurred to him yet that his baby sister would use such an euphemism. He says intelligently, "Huh?" -then it clicks, and he adds, "Oh! You mean was Bryn the first person I had sex with?" He shakes his head, musing, "What an odd question." Looking back to Alex, he finishes, "Since you ask, yes."
Alex's ears are perked sharply up in fascination, "Really? Wow..." she thinks a moment more, and then the questions come tumbling out, "Was she Daddy's snuggle partner away from home too, d'you know? How did Mother feel about it? Do you know if she snuggled Dimitri or Horry too? I was guessing not, but I wondered... d'you know for sure? Um..." she pauses, her ears tilting back slightly in a bit of embarrassment, "Is uhh... was it um fun? Er..." she amends hastily, "I mean, it -- well, it looks so silly, when the farm animals do it, y'know? So..." Her voice falters off... then she ends a bit lamely, "...well, I figured there had to be a good reason to uh... I mean for looking that silly, y'know?" She gives her brother a faintly nervous sideways glance, then assiduously fusses with the reins... which don't really need it, of course.
Carroll blinks at the rush of questions and tries to keep them straight long enough to answer them all, but completely loses track of them, and winds up trying very hard not to laugh at his obviously-embarrassed sister, and failing. Miserably. When he manages to contain his mirth enough to talk, he says, "Oh, Alex, I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh." He rubs his face with one hand, smoothing out whiskers and fur, adding, "They're perfectly good questions, too."
Alex's ears are flattened with embarrassment by the time he finishes laughing. She heels her horse over, leaning to poke Carroll sharply in the ribs, "Hmf! You didn't have to laugh at me, Cara..." She straightens with dignity, although the effect is somewhat ruined by her sticking her tongue out at him when he grins at her.
Carroll looks somewhat abashed, but not for long, saying, "You phrased it in such a matter-of-fact way." He chuckles again, and answers his sister's question, "Sex is usually nice, and sometimes better, yes. It's a good feeling in itself, and usually makes for a warm and relaxed snuggling afterwards, very cozy and close." He shakes his head and adds, "I'm surprised you hadn't found out on your own," and manages not to laugh this time.
Alex wrinkles up her nose and says exasperatedly, "Oh, Cara, honestly! With a boy?! Bleah!!" She sticks her tongue way out again in a general gesture of utter revulsion, then adds disgustedly, "All they want to do is grab at you... and none of them wanted to go riding or fencing or dancing or sailing or anything interesting... they're so immature!"
Carroll comments dryly, "That's the problem with boys, yes. You'll have better luck with a man," and gives his sister a cheerful smirk. He considers, and then answers the earlier questions, "As far as Bryn goes... I'm not certain about she and Father, but I believe they've been on-again-off-again companions for years, when Father was away and after Mother was gone, although I'm not certain. I haven't asked him, as it didn't seem important. How mother felt about it, I don't know." Alex hmfs! -turning her nose up at her brother's first comment... although she can't maintain that appearance of lofty disinterest for long, due to rabid interest in the subject her brother's speaking of. She listens fascinatedly, nodding occasionally.
Carroll pausing for a moment, riding along and obviously considering, then adds, "I don't know about Dimitri. I know he spent some time with Bryn, but I don't know if anything like that happened. Could be either way. I kind of doubt Horatio would have attracted Bryn's notice; he's so quiet. I expect his first will be Jessie, and only if someone douses him in mink musk and locks them in his cabin." Alex laughs aloud delightedly -- then covers her muzzle hastily, her eyes dancing in guilty glee. Carroll shrugs and adds with a grin, "I could be wrong though about Horatio. He spent a lot of time away, and may have experiences which belie his shyness."
Alex grins, then eyes the reins she's running slowly between her fingers, "So... so it's worth trying then? So... hmm. So how do you know if someone's interested in you, Cara?"
Carroll nods and says, "Yes, it's worth trying." He looks over at her and adds, "I don't have to harp about how important it is to avoid a species that can interbreed with foxes, do I?" Pausing to watch her shake her head a very definite No! he says, "All right, then I won't mention it again." Alex nods firmly to herself in response -- she has no intention of wasting good sailing time with kits -- sheesh!
Carroll tries to answer the question, thinking and talking slowly. "Well, at the basest level, you can smell the little tang of musk from someone when they're interested in you. They'll also tend to try and get closer to you, and to be watching you a lot." He considers what has worked for him, then adds, "Also, if it's the right kind of situation, someone interested may try and touch you more than they might otherwise, even if it's just brushing you with their tail as they walk by, or putting their hand on your shoulder or elbow as they walk or talk with you."
Alex nods slowly, thinking... "Okay... I'll try to keep alert to that more..." She sighs softly, her ears drooping a little, "...if anyone ever does it to me." A little wryly she adds, "Tough to see if tumbling is fun... without someone that's interested in you!"
Carroll chuckles, and says, "I expect there's more than you think, Alex, who'd be interested in just sex. I will suggest that you try to choose people you know and like, as that makes it a much more pleasant activity, as is spending any kind of time with a friend versus spending it with a stranger." He shrugs and says, "If you don't know them at least a little, it's only marginally better than touching yourself, just messier."
An abortive attempt by the prisoners to escape one night results in one injured refugee and two more dead bandits. Nothing else mars the trip down from the mountains. On the afternoon when the town comes into sight in the valley below, Pablo's parents corral Rosita and approach Alex. Alex looks up with a carefully concealed bit of amusement -- they look quite nervously determined! She'll smile and nod politely as they approach. Rosita nods. "They ask eef you have a moment, senyorita?"
Alex says, "Of course, Rosita." She'll smile at the rabbit couple, then add, "Is something wrong?"
The rabbits shake their heads as that is translated. "No, nothing ees wrong. They weesh to thank you again for your... forbearance, ees that the word?"
Alex smiles, "Tell them it's not a problem, Rosita... and that they should get used to it. They're not serfs now... they're free to chose how they want to live." She wonders idly if Bryn attached herself to Alex's father for similar reasons... very curious, she thinks.
Rosita smiles. "They know thees, senyorita, but not... how you say?" She pats her chest. "Not in the heart, si?"
Alex nods quietly, "I understand, I think, Rosita. Tell them it's all right... that I'm glad they're free now." She studies the couple, still carefully smiling so she doesn't look like she's thinking about flogging or anything... she wonders if they'd be nervous if she asked them some questions.
The armadillo nods. "They weesh to thank you for helping them learn thees. They also do not really know what to do now. They are free, but they need to earn their keep, si? They know only herding."
Alex hesitates, then says carefully, "Rosita... d'you think they'd get upset if I asked them to tell me some about where they came from? Like... what it was like, where it was on the map, who was the lord there... or who the lords of the border estates are, maybe?"
The armadillo passes on Alex's request, and the rabbits nod. "Si, si!" They seem almost relieved that they can do something to repay her for not acting like the nobility they grew up with.
Alex looks relieved herself, then settles down with them, sitting someplace comfortable while they talk. "So... what's the terrain like near the border of Costa Yermo and Hamasura? Are the roads good? Does the guardia patrol assiduously? How many estates are there near the border, and who are the lords of that area? What are they like?" She takes a breath, then realizes maybe she should give them a moment to answer!
The discussion goes on for a few minutes before Rosita starts to translate. "They are from an estate near the coast, and were sent up to the mineeng camps on their side of the Tejado del Mundo weeth a cattle drive. They took their chance to escape." Alex nods, listening with interest. Rosita says, "There ees only the one good road across the mountains, through La Puerta de los Vientos. The rest of the border ees hard to cross. A few trails, they are not well known except to smugglers. The guard patrols the main road all the time, not so well along the mountains elsewhere."
Alex nods quietly, "What do they look like? Are they sneaky, or obvious, or... or what?"
Rosita discusses this for a bit. "They are... not sneaky, no. Not stupid, good trackers, but not sneaky."
Alex nods thoughtfully... "Okay. Are they canids or no? What's the terrain like? Are the roads good? Do they know anything about the local nobility? Names or families or anything?"
Rosita translates. "The nobles and officers are canines. The rank and file soldiers are, how you say... meat eaters, si?"
Alex looks a bit surprised, then takes a long, slow look at the refugees... are they all herbivores? She wonders where omnivores fit into this peculiar worldview. When she looks carefully she realizes that the refugees are nearly all herbivores -- and those who aren't, are insectivores. Alex shakes her head in mild wonder... curiouser and curiouser! "All right. I'll assume they just don't know in regards to names or families of local nobility then. So... ask them this, please, Rosita... if someone wanted to wander around unnoticed down there... how would they do so?"
The rabbits look consideringly at Alex, then shake their heads. "Not possible for a fox. You are the noble class, people would notice. To be unnoticed... need to be a trader. Someone with permission to travel, but not a noble."
Alex rests her chin in her hands thoughtfully. "Fascinating... so that's why Don Carlos was polite to me... and why the prince is interested in Queen Arianna!" She muses silently for a moment, then adds, "Are there any um... large, mostly unpatrolled forests in that area, that have traffic that goes through them anyways? Or... mountain areas in the same condition? What species are traders? Um... are there any foxes that are non-nobles?" She sighs softly, thinking that it's a terrible pity that Don Carlos is so thoroughly a product of his upbringing -- what a wonderful inside information source he could have made!
The rabbits shrug. Rosita translates, "They went across the mountains weeth a smuggler, but he turned them over to the bandits. They're not sure exactly where they came across, now." Alex nods, hoping they'll answer her other questions also. Rosita continues the discussion, passing bits on as they come up. "Traders are bears or opossums sometimes, but mostly birds." Alex raises a surprised eyebrow... she wonders why there's such species-specificity here. Rosita continues. "The serfs are horses, deer, rabbits, squirrels, that sort of person. The artisans are opossums, monkeys, armadillos, and pigs. The traders are bats and birds, mostly. And the warrior class and nobles are ferrets, cats, and canines, always based on what you are."
Alex looks horrifiedly fascinated, "But... what if there's someone like my brother Horatio, who isn't a warrior but is a canid? What happens to someone who's artistic but is..." she remembers Miriam suddenly, "-a horse?"
The rabbits shrug. "A serf can be an artist, if his lord lets him. A noble who isn't a warrior can still run his estates. But most accept what they are born to. But in the last few years, things have gotten worse. Too many lords are asking more and more in taxes."
Alex leans forward worriedly, "Why are they doing this, do you know? What do people do when they don't have the money?"
The answer comes back. "If they don't have enough to pay their taxes, they go hungry. If they still can't pay, many have been sent to the mines."
Alex sighs softly, leaning back. She'd wondered if that would be the case... although she feels no pleasure at hearing her worst suppositions are correct. She's silent for a while, just thinking... then says slowly, "Foxes... are foxes always nobility in Costa Yermo, Rosita? And are there any large and mostly trackless areas of the country?"
The rabbits nod when the question is repeated. "Si. Foxes, wolves, coyotes are the noble class there. Not all wealthy, but they are the nobles." Rosita has to work around the idea of trackless, and then has to work some more around the refugees' lack of geography. "Not many forests, but lots of mountains."
Alex sighs softly again. While the information is fascinating, she suspects any successful attempt to infiltrate and make any difference there would require a great deal of local assistance, both to find hiding places to avoid the guardia, and to feed information to. She's not sure how to go about doing that... maybe Carroll might know. She'll have to ask.